What Does Your Homepage Say About Your Business?

Your
website is essentially the online manifestation of your brand, showing visitors
exactly who you are, what you do, and why you matter. A good website can create
a positive presentation, showing prospective customers that you have something
of value to offer, while a bad website can do the opposite. First impressions
are extremely important online; it takes just two seconds for a website visitor to
come to a conclusion, so if things don’t look good on the surface, your
business may be out of luck.

In many ways, a great website is
like putting on a sharp, freshly-pressed suit, while a poor one is the
equivalent of wearing sweatpants to a job interview. Here’s what your homepage
says about your business.

Reputation and Credibility

Your site says a lot about what
you do as a company, but it also speaks to your reputation. A sloppily made
site, a site without a professional URL, or a site that utilizes out-of-date
web design concepts speaks to your credibility in website design – and
your credibility in your industry. You may try to argue that your company
doesn’t specialize in web design so your website shouldn’t count against you,
but a consumer may see it differently. Whether you like it or not, a lacking
website implies a company isn’t a credible choice, hurting your conversion
rates and driving away customers.

Customer Experience

Is your website slow to load?
Does your navigation make sense? Are your images obviously stock photos? Do many of
your links redirect to 404 errors or to incorrect pages? All of these factors
significantly reduce the customer experience, creating a frustrating venture
through your website. While site visitors can often overlook a few of these
things, an overall negative experience can speak volumes about the kinds of
interactions they will have with you if they choose your company. If you want
to instill confidence in purchase decisions, your website needs to provide a
seamless, user-friendly experience.

Quality Products and Services

A quality website that
communicates information efficiently and effectively immediately instills
confidence and sends an important message to visitors regarding the caliber of
your products and services. A great website implies, even if subconsciously,
that your company can keep up with customer demands. A poorly-constructed
website that doesn’t provide value, on the other hand, indicates the opposite:
that your products or services won’t be able to perform as desired. When your
website looks great, customers will assume your company is great, too.

Brand Identity

Your website speaks highly to your identity as a company. If your site uses dark colors and a font like Times New Roman, you will likely be perceived as proper and conservative, even if the interior of your office and your employee relations say otherwise. When your website doesn’t align with your corporate goals, objectives, and ideals, your customers will likely get the wrong idea about who you are and what you stand for. Instead, put effort into ensuring your web design speaks on an in-depth level to your identity as a brand – not to the WordPress template you chose because it looked nice.

A well-designed website goes extremely far, boosting everything from lead generation and conversion rates to customer perceptions. If your site isn’t up to par, your company may lose out to competitors that can put together a better presentation. Not sure where your site is going wrong? Get in touch with RivalMind today to learn more about how to make your site the best it can be.